The Baumgarten Prize was founded by Ferenc Ferdinánd Baumgarten on October 17, 1923. It was awarded every year from 1929 to 1949 (except for 1945). It was one of the most prestigious literary prizes of 20th century Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, along with the Attila József Prize and the Kossuth Prize

Kossuth Prize

The Kossuth Prize is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionary Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1948 by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and group achievements in the fields of...

.

In accordance with the founder's will, it was given to "Hungarian authors with serious endeavour whether in literature or in science who are exempt of any religious, racial or social prejudices and serve only ideal aims, thus making no compromise for personal advantages, are in need of financial means." The foundation was administered by the Baumgarten Board of Trustees, whose members were lawyer Lóránt Basch and writer Mihály Babits

Mihály Babits

Mihály Babits was a Hungarian poet, writer and translator.- Biography :...

 (from 1941, after Babits' death, Aladár Schöpflin), and it was assisted by an 8-member advisory board. During its existence, the prize had a major significance in developing Hungarian literature.

It was given, among others, to the following people: Antal Szerb

Antal Szerb

Antal Szerb was a noted Hungarian scholar and writer. He is recognized as one of the major Hungarian literary personalities of the 20th century.-Life and work:...

, Miklós Radnóti

Miklós Radnóti

Miklós Radnóti, birth name Miklós Glatter was a Hungarian poet who died in The Holocaust.-Personality and early life:...

, Sándor Weöres

Sándor Weöres

Sándor Weöres was a Hungarian poet and author.Born in Szombathely, Weöres was brought up in the nearby village of Csönge. His first poems appeared when he was nineteen, being published in the influential journal Nyugat through the acceptance of its editor, the poet Mihály Babits...

, Győző Csorba, Áron Tamási

Áron Tamási

Áron Tamási was a Hungarian writer. He became well-known in his native region of Transylvania and in Hungary for his stories written in his original Székely style.-Biography:...

 (three times), Gyula Illyés

Gyula Illyés

Gyula Illyés was a Hungarian poet and novelist. He was one of the so called népi writers, named so because they aimed to show – propelled by strong sociological interest and left-wing convictions – the disadvantageous conditions of their native land.-Early life:He was born...

, Albert Wass, Emil Kolozsvári Grandpierre, Attila József

Attila József

Attila József was one of the most important and well-known Hungarian poets of the 20th century.-Biography:The son of Áron József, a soap factory worker of Romanian origin from Bánát, and Hungarian peasant girl Borbála Pőcze, he was born in Ferencváros, a poor district of Budapest. He had two elder...

 (posthumous), Károly Kerényi, János Pilinszky

János Pilinszky

János Pilinszky was a Hungarian poet.Well known within the Hungarian borders for his vast influence on postwar Hungarian poetry, Pilinszky’s style includes a juxtaposition of Roman Catholic faith and intellectual disenchantment...

, Andor Endre Gelléri, Lőrinc Szabó

Lorinc Szabó

Lőrinc Szabó de Gáborján was a Hungarian poet and literary translator.-Biography:He was born in Miskolc as the son of an engine driver, Lőrinc Szabó sr., and Ilona Panyiczky. The family moved to Balassagyarmat when he was 3 years old. He attended school in Balassagyarmat and Debrecen. He studied...

 (three times), Ágnes Nemes Nagy, Józsi Jenő Tersánszky (four times), Tibor Déry

Tibor Dery

Tibor Déry was a Hungarian writer. In his early years he was a supporter of communism, but after being excluded from the ranks of the Hungarian Communist Party in 1953 he started writing satire on the communist regime in Hungary.Georg Lukács praised Dery as being 'the greatest depicter of human...

, Pál Szabó, Lajos Fülep, Gyula Juhász

Gyula Juhász

Gyula Juhász was a Hungarian poet, who was awarded the Baumgarten Prize.His first poems were published in in 1899. Between 1902 and 1906 he was a student of the University of Budapest, where he met Mihály Babits and Dezső Kosztolányi....

 (three times), Gábor Devecseri, László Németh

László Németh

László Németh was a Hungarian dentist, writer, dramatist and essayist. He was born in Nagybánya the son of József Németh and Vilma Gaál . Over the Christmas of 1925, he married Ella Démusz , the daughter of János Démusz, a keeper of a public house. Between 1926 and 1944 they had six daughters, but...

, Nagy Lajos (three times), Magda Szabó

Magda Szabó

Magda Szabó was a Hungarian writer, arguably Hungary's foremost woman novelist. She also wrote dramas, essays, studies, memories and poetry....

(repealed).